What Auburn gymnastics coach Jeff Graba said Olympians like Suni Lee meant to NCAA Championships

FORT WORTH, Texas — Auburn coach Jeff Graba has become something of an obligatory spokesperson for the state of NCAA gymnastics this season. It's a natural side effect of him being the coach of Olympic all-around gold medalist Suni Lee at a groundbreaking time for the sport.

But Lee was just one of four Olympians competing at the NCAA Championships on Thursday. The Auburn freshman was joined by her 2021 U.S. teammates: Jordan Chiles (UCLA), Jade Carey (Oregon State) and Grace McCallum (Utah).

The Olympian convergence was the highlight of an unprecedented season in which the elite level spilled into college.

"I just think NCAA gymnastics right now is really the focus of everything," said Graba, the 12th-year Auburn coach. "It used to be, the Olympics was the focus every four years, and the NCAA had its own niche. And then SEC Network came along. ESPN and all these guys started to cover it. And now we have our own niche that other people are bleeding into. So I really think it's sort become a melting pot. For all these different disciplines to come here and thrive, it's a really exciting time."

Graba's family is familiar with the sport from all of its different angles: Jeff's twin brother, Jess, is Lee's Olympic coach.

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The most common question he gets: Why don't Olympians dominate nationals if they're the best in the world?

The transition from elite level gymnastics to NCAA is not so seamless, which not everybody understands. In elite, difficulty points are a factor — so it's encouraged for gymnasts to innovate and experiment in order to score successfully. There's a higher start value for more strenuous routines.

But in NCAA, the highest possible score is a perfect 10, meaning the emphasis is more on consistent fundamental achievement. You are not rewarded for trying a more difficult routine, but you are penalized if you mess it up.

Jeff Graba even thinks of it as a different sport. His main takeaway from the season stems from that idea.

"I put it as the difference between softball and baseball," he said. "Much of it is still the same, but softball is a different game than baseball. ... What I take away from it is how athletically gifted (these Olympians) are to come to a different set of rules in a short period of time, adapt and be really close to the top of their game, and our game.

"But it also shows that there's a lot of other great gymnasts in the country that can maximize and get close to that level or be directly with these people in this rule set. So it makes for a great television product, a great fan product, and the 10 still exists in this sport, where in the other sport, it doesn't."

This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: Jeff Graba on Suni Lee, Olympians at NCAA Gymnastics Championships